6/16/17

Anyone who’s a regular visitor to this site knows that I
have a particular disdain for the Skipper’s lineup construction, in-game
decision making and his blatant preference for older players over younger
ones. Today, however, we’re going to
cover another aspect of the man’s questionable qualifications for his job, but this
time his partner-in-crime, Dan Warthen, goes under the microscope as well.

Word came down today that the reason behind Matt Harvey’s
precipitous drop in velocity was a fracture in his shoulder. No one is blaming
the dynamic duo for the injury. These
things happen (though seemingly way too often if you’re a Mets fan). No, the issue is a broader question about
what the so-called professionals are watching.

At some point you would think that the pitching coach and
manager would notice a decidedly different style of pitching and question what
has happened to make him convert from power pitcher to finesse pitcher,
particularly when his last start was so dominant.

It’s not an idle or isolated incident. The same happened with Josh Smoker just
recently when the dubious duo chose to leave him in for 4.1 innings to get
rocked in a laugher and then have him wind up on the DL with shoulder strain
and “loose bodies” in his left elbow.
Hmmn…shouldn’t someone have noticed what was happening?

If these incidents were the end of the story, it would be
unfortunate but perhaps excusable.
However, we saw mishandling of Noah Syndergaard, Jeurys Familia and
others. Thankfully both Seth Lugo and
Steve Matz went to the DL before being abused and/or neglected by the on-field
braintrust. They’re now being
productive, but for how long is anyone’s guess since apparently no one is
watching the store.

Apparently the only thing keeping Terry Collins employed is
that he has not lost the clubhouse, but to hear Dodger Justin Turner and
malcontent Jordany Valdespin tell it, working for the man is not all peaches
and cream. Then again, they didn’t have
gray hair, so they were not considered part of Terry’s Team.

These observations are nothing new. Remember everyday Rice – how overuse
destroyed pitcher Scott Rice? How many
pitchers have gone down with a variety of injuries during this reign of
terror? It certainly SEEMS like a
disproportionately high number compared to other stretches of similar lengths
of time before the dastardly duo took over.

Perhaps when the current regime is mercifully over we will
see if Frank Viola and a new manager can be a little more attentive and careful
with the team’s expensive resources.